Thursday, December 3, 2009

Decimated

I don't normally write about work-related issues, but I decided to make an exception, because the venting will be therapeutic and will ultimately help my running.

Here it goes:

A couple of thousand years ago, when a roman army unit fought poorly, one punishment that was sometimes performed was 'decimation'. Basically, groups of ten soldiers would draw lots, and the one loser would be clubbed to death by his pals.

Fast forward to yesterday. Even though it's making decent money, the company I work for decided to enhance shareholder value by "decimating" the work force. About 15% of the employees were let go. The deed was done by the immediate superior. There were no warning, but as soon as the first people were let go, the rumors spead like wildfire. I would say that 10 minutes after the layoff started, everybody knew. We all sat at our desk, looking at our phone's caller id screen, hoping not to see our boss' name. Ironically, after the deed was done, they called the remaining people to let them know they were ok, but for that one short moment before they were told, everybody thought they were goners. I remember when my phone rang, I said "F$ck!" out loud.

I survived the decimation. A lot of my friends are gone. I wish them all well in their new endeavors.